


eyes burning yellow

by gonnaflynow



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, M/M, Wanderlust, eruri - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 07:39:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3319424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gonnaflynow/pseuds/gonnaflynow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was the first time that Levi could remember Erwin at a loss for words. Then again, Levi didn't have much more to say.</p><p>(aka eruri's wonderful forest adventure)</p>
            </blockquote>





	eyes burning yellow

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this picture](http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/255/6/1/tree_house_forest_by_realnam-d6lslh7.jpg)! also inspired by ["woodcat" by tunng](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziM22tNgS7o), aka maddie's unrequited love song circa sophomore year of high school (despite that, it's a beautiful song, I would put it on in the background while you're reading this maybe?)

"What is this place?"

"Levi, I…. I'm not sure."

This was the first time that Levi could remember Erwin at a loss for words. Then again, Levi didn't have much more to say.

"Could this be a hallucination of some sort?" the commander wondered aloud, running a finger down the palm of his left hand to test for sensation. 

"It doesn't feel like you fell off one of the Walls?" Levi groaned, sitting up with a small gasp of pain and rolling his neck with a crisp crack. "I can't remember being this sore since the first time I used the gear. If this is a hallucination, it's a pretty damn powerful one." 

"Now that you mention it, it _does_ feel like I've taken a titan's foot to my back…"

"But why are we _both_ here, if this is a hallucination? And how come we're able to communicate?" 

"Perhaps there's our answer," Erwin murmured, casting his eyes skyward. Levi followed his gaze. Far, far above them, nearly hidden between pockets of thick foliage, was a small skylight, ringed with an ethereal white glow from the bright summer moon.

" _Fuck_ ," Levi whispered. "You mean we fell down all this way and didn't snuff it on impact?"

"Seems this cushioned our fall," said Erwin, hands brushing curiously over what seemed to be a dense pillow of moss spread beneath them. 

"What luck," Levi scoffed. "Moss? There's no way in hell…"

"Best not to question it," Erwin said quickly. He pulled himself into a sitting position with a quiet groan, graciously accepting Levi's outstretched hand and struggling to his feet. 

"So, commander genius, any brilliant plans for getting us out of here?" Levi huffed, spinning in a slow circle as his eyes adjusted to the dimness. "Last I was aware, we were asleep, so obviously neither of us has our gear on us…"

"No," Erwin said slowly, eyes closed and brows furrowed in thought. "To be frank, it's just too dark to evaluate the situation properly. Our best option is probably to wait until daylight and proceed from there. I'm sorry I can't offer much else."

"No, you're right," Levi sighed, lips pressing together into a thin line. "But what should we do until then? I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of waiting around here twiddling our thumbs. Who knows what kind of _things_ are lurking around, waiting for a single misstep—"

A gentle hand on Levi's upper arm silenced his manic monologue.

"Levi. Listen," Erwin murmured, circling around until his hands rested on Levi's shoulders. "Humor me. Just close your eyes, and listen to the forest." Though Levi's gaze narrowed in suspicion, Erwin's sure grip drained his apprehension, and he felt his eyes sliding shut, coaxed by Erwin's trusting warmth. 

The forests on the surface set Levi's nerves on edge. He felt claustrophobic beneath the canopies, hidden aberrant titans a possibility behind every thick tree trunk, ready to appear to tangle cables and crush his comrades against the ancient wood before evaporating into the mist. Levi would gladly sacrifice his maneuverability amongst the trees for visibility in the plains, for the open sky above his head.

Here, there was something distinctly different about the atmosphere. Though he strained to listen, Levi heard nothing but the soft breeze through the trees and Erwin's quiet breaths cascading over his left ear. Even the smell was unfamiliar, rich soil and damp leaves left untainted by man or beast.

"See?" Erwin said quietly, thumbs pressing into the knots below Levi's neck. "We're alone. I think we can allow ourselves to drop our guard, at least a little."

Levi felt for the knife tucked against his right thigh before giving a weary sigh, eyesight bleary in the low light.

"I believe you. So what should we do now? We could sleep, but that's a sure way to lose track of the time, which we can't afford…"

"I don't think I could sleep if I wanted to," Erwin admitted. "I was thinking of exploring the area, at least to look for materials that may help us out of here."

"I'm with you," Levi said, the words falling automatically from his tongue. "If we fell through here, there's a fair chance that other kinds of man-made debris did, too."

"Good thinking," Erwin nodded, removing his hands from Levi's shoulders and extending one to him.

"…what's that for?" Levi asked slowly.

"It's dark," said Erwin, eyes dancing in the dim light. "I wouldn't want us to get separated."

"Always the opportunist," Levi grumbled, slipping his hand into Erwin's.

"Shall we?" Erwin smiled, squeezing Levi's hand lightly.

"Lead on," said Levi, and they took off into the dark underbelly of the forest.

 

The first hour's worth of walking brought them no leads. The second brought a rusted blade of foreign construction; more decorative than utilitarian, to Levi's chagrin, and therefore deemed useless. Halfway through the third hour, Erwin spotted a warm glow in the distance.

"That can't be the sun, we haven't been down here that long," said Levi, squinting hard.

"I would think we were too far underground to see the sunrise," Erwin thought aloud, "but if not the sun, what is it?"

As they walked, it became clear that the light did not come from a single source. Most of it was concentrated near the ground, spilling outward onto the forest floor, but some spiraled high into the trees, plodding along like ants on a log or flickering and winking, dispersed, starlike. When they were close enough to make out silhouettes, shadows, no longer a shapeless light, Levi doubled his grip on Erwin's hand and began to walk faster, tugging him along in his haste. Erwin laughed and lengthened his stride. 

Neither man could have imagined what awaited them at the edge of the darkness, not in their wildest dreams. The ground underneath them turned to stone, carved ornately and worn away again as they stumbled into a small clearing. The bright light burned away the last of the gloom and gave way to warmth and security, and wonderment most of all.

Around Erwin and Levi stood a village, but not of the sort they had ever seen. Nowhere was the structure, the order of modern city life; all was nature, all was light. Stairs and windows and houses were embedded in the very trees, with sloping pathways twisting this way and that and leading farther, farther up into the forest, farther than they could see. Street lamps, stretched and twisted like sinew, dotted the curves of the stone road, highlighting intricate brownstone archways and curling staircases leading further into the earth. The architecture was beyond alien; it was something out of the purest fantasy. It transported Erwin to a time gone by, of warm quilts and father's bedtime stories and a glass of warm milk before bed. He felt his mother's lips on his forehead as he walked hand-in-hand with Levi, eyes wide with childish awe.

"Erwin, what…" The question died on Levi's lips, a strange faraway look in his eyes.

Erwin squeezed his hand, reassurance, but for whom he wasn't sure. 

Levi stood on tiptoes to peer into a window on his right. "I don't know exactly what we've gotten ourselves into, here, but I don't think… I don't think I want to try and find the expedition right now, do you?"

"I… I should, we should, but—"

"I can see it in your eyes, Erwin." Levi stopped, tugging Erwin to a halt with him, and dropped his hand to reach for his face instead. Erwin leaned into the touch tiredly, eyes sliding shut. "They'll be fine. _We'll_ be fine. We'll go back when we're ready."

"Never thought I'd see the day when you turned selfish," Erwin smiled.

"One of us has to do it," groaned Levi, biting his bottom lip and reaching to card his fingers through Erwin's hair. "So, you ready or what?"

"Lead on," said Erwin, capturing Levi's hand and bringing it to a rest over his heart. 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! I post stuff over on tumblr that doesn't always make it over here, so go check it out if you're so inclined. comments and kudos are, as always, appreciated.


End file.
